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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Single Government ID Moves Closer to Reality

Further to my earlier posting on the new US Government identity verification project (PIPEDA and Canadian Privacy Law: US Government developing standard for positive identification), the Washington Post is carrying an article that comments, among other things, on privacy objections to the new standard:

Single Government ID Moves Closer to Reality:
"....Some federal employees have concerns about the new cards.
Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents more than 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies, said the proposed standard would permit agencies to print employees' pay grade and rank on the new cards, which many workers would consider an invasion of privacy.
'For example, an agency might seize upon this technology as a means to track employees as they move throughout a building,' Kelley said in written comments to NIST last week. 'That is troubling, standing alone. It would be particularly objectionable if the agency tried to track visits to particular sites such as the union office, Employee Assistance Program offices and the inspector general's office.'
NIST has gathered comments on the draft standard from more than 500 entities and individuals but has not made them public.... "

I wonder how long it will take before this makes its way into IDs for civilians, such as passports and drivers' licences.

Labels: information breaches, privacy